


Changing the Refrain

by FoxRafer



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-05-14
Updated: 2008-05-14
Packaged: 2017-10-22 05:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/234610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxRafer/pseuds/FoxRafer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for <a href="http://sassywitch.livejournal.com/"><b>sassywitch</b></a>; the third of my pay-it-forward gifts.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Changing the Refrain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sassywitch (itsacapitalday)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsacapitalday/gifts).



> Written for [**sassywitch**](http://sassywitch.livejournal.com/); the third of my pay-it-forward gifts.

If he says it enough times maybe it will become true. So he sits in the trailer pretending to read, repeating the words like a desperate mantra.

  
_It's not love. It's not love. It's not love._   


A distinctive laugh caresses his ears, floats into his subconscious. It's deep and rich, and embodies practical jokes and silly observations, unrestrained humor and a comedic patter so much like his own yet utterly unique. Familiar and well loved, it sends Billy's mind on a roller coaster ride, remembering every moment he's been lucky enough to hear it.

He clears his throat, tries to clear his mind, and starts at the top of the page for the tenth time. But the sound of that laughter has filled him with longing, with a slow burning fire that won't be extinguished. And what's worse is the deeper-seated emotions that constantly accompany the superficial lust, the feelings that make something deep in Billy's heart clench and twist and sucks the air from the room. Yet he tries once more to convince himself, to argue that despite all evidence to the contrary he does not count every minute until he can be near Dom again.

  
_It can't be love. It can't be love. It can't be love._   


Now Dom is talking trash, mocking Elijah's joystick technique eliciting a spew of filth and boyish giggles from their young friend. Against his better judgment he turns to the pair and finds Dom's eyes targeting him, freezing him in place.

"You'd be more convincing if you turned the page from time to time." Dom smiles, a sickeningly knowing smile, and Billy's blush stretches all the way down to his toes. He considers flipping Dom off, weighs a few sarcastic remarks but discards them all. For not the first time he considers how long he can deny the path he's on, the obviousness of this affection for his friend. Putting on a mask of innocent insouciance, he begins reading at the top of the page once more.

# # #

It's later that day and Billy's given up on the book, settles on music and a lazy perusal of the paper. Elijah has left, choosing to waste time on his own for a while. But Dom stays, both too close and too far away as he bends over his journal scribbling madly across the page. Billy sees Viggo's influence in many of Dom's new habits, but finds pride that he's the one that brings an unnatural stillness to his twitchy, frenetic friend; that only he seems able to tap into Dom's core and bring more delights to the surface.

He finds himself watching Dom for longer stretches of time, cataloguing every wisp of hair, each quirk of his lips, every peak of tongue. Dom's hands fascinate him, much larger than most men his size, with long fingers just off from elegant. Many things about Dom are just off, but all together they're gorgeous and sexy. Why fight it, Billy wonders, unconsciously resetting the theme.

  
_Is it love? Is it love? Is it love?_   


Dom's hand has stilled on the page, the pen poised lazily just above the unlined paper. Billy feels his cheeks begin to heat with the blush he cannot will away, knowing full well those grey eyes are fixed on him once more.

He doesn't want to see but is helpless to stop the slow rise of his eyes to meet Dom's. Instead of smug scrutiny or a cocky glint, Billy's met with a soft almost vulnerable look, a question clear in the always-smoky gaze.

"You alright, Bill?"

Dom's voice is quiet but projects an underlying strength that makes Billy smile. Was there any question he found himself head over heels for this man, the very meaning of delicious contradiction? Complicated and open, irreverent yet naturally courteous: Billy could spend a lifetime with Dom and still discover new and exciting things to mull over and cherish. Not so much a mystery as wondrously surprising, and comfortably Billy changes the refrain.

  
_It is love. It is love. It is love._   


"Yeah. I'm good."

"You figure it out?"

"And even accepted it."

Dom smiles broadly then continues to write, scooting closer. Billy twists on the bench and slides down, laying his head on Dom's thigh. A lifetime won't be nearly enough, he thinks, closing his eyes and settling in for the long haul.


End file.
